As the year draws to a close many of us might take time for reflection. It is befitting to think about changes we would like to see for the better when the clock strikes midnight and the clean slate of a new year begins. Out with the old, and in with the new.

These past few months I heard way too many times, sound bites repeated about cats that are stereotypical, unfounded, and cruel. These same mundane statements are being echoed throughout almost every media outlet and social media venue. This repetition does more harm than good and it is frustrating to keep hearing these same old droll statements plunked down because it is easier to repeat than evaluate.

I might sound like I have lost my sense of humor, and I haven’t I assure you, except when it comes to people mindlessly repeating the following things about cats.

1) Stop repeating that cats are aloof and don’t love their humans.

Vocal recognition of owners by domestic cats (Felis catus), by Saito and Shinozuka and published in Animal Cognition early in 2013 caused an echo throughout the media claiming that cats don’t care enough to respond to their owners, cats are aloof, and even your cat doesn’t love you back. So as bits and pieces of the article were plucked out and repeated, in one sensational headline after another, the core of the article was left behind.

The Thanksgiving Menu Preparations

Preparations are being made in my habitat for Thanksgiving dinner. This means all different types of foods are prepared at once and the smells wafting from the kitchen can be overwhelming! A cat’s nose has to work extra hard to determine the origin of these smells. And this is more difficult than you think, because the Thanksgiving menu is not all turkey and ham. There are decoys on that menu like cranberry relish. A cat must remain diligent and stalk the kitchen to determine the best time to ambush the table and snag a tasty morsel.

Why are cat lovers called crazy?

Lazy Leopard and Gracey

Lazy Leopard and I have to get this off our chests. We are tired of the term Crazy being used to describe humans that love and care for cats. Why crazy? I understand that the words flow, I too am a fan of alliteration. The Tiniest Tiger™, Conservation Cub Club™, feline finesse™, you see what I mean? But why the word crazy? Let’s take a look at the definition of crazy that I copied from my Dictionary (version 2.1.3 (80.4)) on my iMac.

Welcome to The Tiniest Tiger Community

Hi, I'm Joanne and I love all cats. With a Global Field Master of Zoology degree focused on big cat conservation, I like to learn and talk about big cats too. I share my habitat with Paul and we were adopted by our cats Annie, Eddie and Mercy. The Tiniest Tiger has a fierce following of cat lovers and we'd love it, if you'd join us.